Q. We have a permit to open up our kitchen to our family room and add a breakfast room. We’re told that our finished basement and attic aren’t legal, but we don’t want to get permits for them, at least not now. We thought they were acceptable . . .
more

Q. We bought a house six months ago, and had a summons stuck on our front door two weeks after we moved in. It turned out that our seller was in the middle of getting permits for an addition, the garage and a deck, but never followed up. We had to go to court . . .
more

Q. Our rear porch was changed to a family room, and even though we noticed that the ceiling and floor got wet when it rained, we thought that making the porch a closed-in room would mean no more water. Unfortunately, after the room was finished, it still leaks.
more

Q. We’re being told that our new front porch can be held up by fiberglass columns. This is confusing, because we wonder if it could be strong enough to hold up the roof. Is this a common thing to do?
more

Q. Our air conditioning was replaced last fall when we moved into the house, and is now a heater and air conditioner with gas pipes. The installers said it would work fine, but the utility company won’t turn on the gas until we get a plumbing inspection, and the plumbing inspector said . . .
more

Q. We’re changing our kitchen, and people have given us conflicting information. The kitchen store says they install the kitchen but charge extra to remove the old one, and we have to tell them what appliances we want. A contractor says . . .
more

Q. We’re wondering why it takes so long for a renovation to our home and to put a pool and deck in our yard. We started the whole thing well before winter, and it’s taking forever. First we hired a contractor, who started with a drafting service, but . . .
more